Woodson, J. (2009). Peace, locomotion. New York: Putnam.
Twelve year old Lonnie Collins Motion, aka Locomotion, has been separated from his nine year old sister Lili now for two years after their parent’s death. They are both living with foster families, but not together. This book is written from Lonnie’s perspective since this book is a compilation of his letters to Lili. Lonnie uses these letters a type of diary to explain his life and feelings with his sister. Although he writes these letters to Lili, he does not mail them to her. He instead uses the letters as a kind of coping mechanism to help him deal with the traumatic life experiences he has had. When his sister was taken in by a foster family, they did not want his as well. He is also taken in by a family that consists of a wonderful lady named Miss Edna who treats him as her own. This book is about him finally moving on from his parent’s death and accepting that Miss Edna and her sons are his new family. Not only does Lonnie have a lot on his mind between worrying about his sister and her happiness, but about the safety of his foster brother who is in the army. In this book he learns the importance of family and how finding peace is the answer to all of his problems.
The diverse groups being depicted are African Americans, foster and mixed families, children coping with a family member’s death, separation from family members, and families dealing with the worry of having someone serve in the war.
This book made me realize that although my future students may be young, that does not mean that they do not have a lot of other things other than school going on in their lives as well. They, like Lonnie, could have a lot more going on in their lives than I could ever imagine. This twelve year old had a lot on his plate already, like many other students may as well.
This book enhanced my awareness by making me realize the importance of being accepting and understanding to any outside issues my students may have. Lonnie had a lot to deal with in his life already at an early age, like many other students do as well. Knowing a student’s background is important and can help explain their work. Lonnie’s poetry reflected on his past, so as a teacher it is important to know where your students are coming from. This book reinforced to me the importance of being a warm, open teacher. Lonnie showed a significance improvement and interest in school when he had Miss Alina who encouraged him and made him feel important compared to when he had Ms. Cooper who was not supportive of him and his passion for poetry. Ms. Cooper had told Lonnie that he was not a poet since he did not have published work. These teacher’s words stopped him from wanting to write or try in school. Then when Miss Alina came along she asked if she could be lucky enough to view his writing. He then wanted to write again and believed in his writing as well.
This book is definitely relevant to right now with all with adoptions taking place frequently. This book shows good support for those children who are currently living with foster families. This book shows a child’s struggle to cope with it and show them that they can equally be just as much considered family. Also, this book shows how having someone in your family serve in the army can affect the overall family. So with our country’s current situation going on, this is a more common issue.
I would definitely recommend this book. I enjoyed this book so much that I read it all at one since I was unable to put it down. I would use this book in my classroom since it deals with multiples issues all at once. This book shows how family support and being there for one another can help us all through tough times.
Woodson, J. (2009). Peace, locomotion. New York: Putnam.
Twelve year old Lonnie Collins Motion, aka Locomotion, has been separated from his nine year old sister Lili now for two years after their parent’s death. They are both living with foster families, but not together. This book is written from Lonnie’s perspective since this book is a compilation of his letters to Lili. Lonnie uses these letters a type of diary to explain his life and feelings with his sister. Although he writes these letters to Lili, he does not mail them to her. He instead uses the letters as a kind of coping mechanism to help him deal with the traumatic life experiences he has had. When his sister was taken in by a foster family, they did not want his as well. He is also taken in by a family that consists of a wonderful lady named Miss Edna who treats him as her own. This book is about him finally moving on from his parent’s death and accepting that Miss Edna and her sons are his new family. Not only does Lonnie have a lot on his mind between worrying about his sister and her happiness, but about the safety of his foster brother who is in the army. In this book he learns the importance of family and how finding peace is the answer to all of his problems.
The diverse groups being depicted are African Americans, foster and mixed families, children coping with a family member’s death, separation from family members, and families dealing with the worry of having someone serve in the war.
This book made me realize that although my future students may be young, that does not mean that they do not have a lot of other things other than school going on in their lives as well. They, like Lonnie, could have a lot more going on in their lives than I could ever imagine. This twelve year old had a lot on his plate already, like many other students may as well.
This book enhanced my awareness by making me realize the importance of being accepting and understanding to any outside issues my students may have. Lonnie had a lot to deal with in his life already at an early age, like many other students do as well. Knowing a student’s background is important and can help explain their work. Lonnie’s poetry reflected on his past, so as a teacher it is important to know where your students are coming from. This book reinforced to me the importance of being a warm, open teacher. Lonnie showed a significance improvement and interest in school when he had Miss Alina who encouraged him and made him feel important compared to when he had Ms. Cooper who was not supportive of him and his passion for poetry. Ms. Cooper had told Lonnie that he was not a poet since he did not have published work. These teacher’s words stopped him from wanting to write or try in school. Then when Miss Alina came along she asked if she could be lucky enough to view his writing. He then wanted to write again and believed in his writing as well.
This book is definitely relevant to right now with all with adoptions taking place frequently. This book shows good support for those children who are currently living with foster families. This book shows a child’s struggle to cope with it and show them that they can equally be just as much considered family. Also, this book shows how having someone in your family serve in the army can affect the overall family. So with our country’s current situation going on, this is a more common issue.
I would definitely recommend this book. I enjoyed this book so much that I read it all at one since I was unable to put it down. I would use this book in my classroom since it deals with multiples issues all at once. This book shows how family support and being there for one another can help us all through tough times.